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Mick RonsonEnglish guitarist and composer
Date of Birth: 26.05.1945
Country:  Great Britain |
Content:
- Mick Ronson: A Guitar Legend's Journey
- The David Bowie Era (1970-1973)
- The Man Who Sold the World
- The Spiders from Mars
- His collaboration with Bowie continued on the album Aladdin Sane.
- Later Career and Collaborations
Mick Ronson: A Guitar Legend's Journey
Early Life and Influences (1946-1969)Michael Ronson was born in Beverley Road, Hull, East Yorkshire, in 1946. He later moved to Greatfield, Hull. As a child, he received classical training on the piano, recorder, violin, and later the harmonium. Initially aspiring to become a cellist, he switched to guitar after discovering Eddie Duane's music, where the bass guitar's sound mirrored that of a cello's.
In 1963, at age 17, he joined his first band, The Mariners. His stage debut with The Mariners was as a support act for the Keith Herd Band at Alawghton Village Hall. While Ronson was with The Mariners, another local Hull band, The Crestas, recruited him upon the advice of The Mariners' bassist, John Griffiths. The Crestas, with Ronson, established a solid reputation, regularly playing local venues: the Halfway House on Mondays, the Hotel Ballroom on Thursdays, the Kingston Ballroom in Beverley on Fridays, and the County Cumberland in North Ferriby on Sundays.
In 1965, Ronson left The Crestas to try his luck in London. He landed a part-time job as a van driver and joined The Voice, replacing guitarist Miller Anderson. The Crestas' drummer, Dave Bradfield, soon joined The Voice in London when their own drummer departed. After playing several gigs with the band, Ronson and Bradfield returned to Hull for a weekend to sort out disputes at their flat while the rest of the band went to the Bahamas.
Ronson remained in London and briefly aligned himself with the soul group The Wanted but eventually returned to Hull. In 1966, Ronson joined Hull's leading and most notorious local band, The Rats, consisting of vocalist Benny Marshall, bassist Jeff Appleby, and drummer Jim Simpson (who was later replaced by Clive Taylor and then John Cambridge). The band played gigs locally and made a few unsuccessful trips to London and Paris. In 1967, The Rats recorded the psychedelic track "The Rise And Fall Of Bernie Gripplestone" at Fairview Studios in Hull. The track later appeared on the 2008 compilation album Front Room Masters - Fairview Studios 1966-1973.
In 1968, the band temporarily changed its name to Treacle and booked another recording session at Fairview Studios in 1969 before reverting to their original moniker. During this time, Ronson was recommended to Michael Chapman by Rick Kemp as a guitarist for his album Fully Qualified Survivor.
The David Bowie Era (1970-1973)
When John Cambridge left The Rats to join former Hullaballoos member Mick Wayne in Junior's Eyes, he was replaced by Mick "Woody" Woodmansey. In November 1969, the band recorded their last sessions at Fairview, laying down the songs "Telephone Blues" and "Early in Spring." In March 1970, during the recording of Elton John's album Tumbleweed Connection, Ronson played guitar on the track "Madman Across the Water." However, the original recording of the song did not make it onto the album, and a re-recorded version (without Ronson) appeared on Elton John's next album, Madman Across the Water, as its title track. The original version featuring Ronson was later included as a bonus track on reissues of the album.
The Man Who Sold the World
In early 1970, Cambridge returned to Hull in search of Ronson, intending to persuade him to join David Bowie's new band, The Hype. He found Ronson working one of his day jobs as a gardener for the Parks Department for the Hull City Council. Having had bad luck in his earlier attempts to "make it" in London, Ronson was hesitant but eventually agreed to accompany Cambridge to meet Bowie. Two days later, on February 5th, Ronson made his debut with Bowie on BBC Radio 1's John Peel show.
On February 22nd, The Hype played their first live gig at The Roundhouse, with the line-up consisting of Bowie, Ronson, Cambridge, and producer/bassist Tony Visconti. The band dressed in superhero costumes for their performance: Bowie as "Rainbowman," Visconti as "Hypeman," Ronson as "Gangsterman," and Cambridge as "Cowboyman." They shared the bill that day with Bachdenkel, The Groundhogs, and Caravan. The following night, they played at the Streatham Arms in London under the pseudonym Harry The Butcher. They also performed on February 28th at the Basildon Arts Laboratory—an experimental music venue in the Basildon Arts Centre in Essex—under the name David Bowie's New Electric Band. They were joined there by High Tide, Overson, and Iron Butterfly. Strawbs were also scheduled to play but were replaced by David Bowie's New Electric Band.
John Cambridge left the band on March 30th and was again replaced by Woody Woodmansey. In April 1970, Ronson, Woodmansey, and Visconti began working on the recording of Bowie's album The Man Who Sold the World.
During the sessions for The Man Who Sold the World album, the trio of Ronson, Woodmansey, and Visconti, still going by the name The Hype, signed a contract with Vertigo Records. Around this time, they added Benny Marshall of The Rats to the line-up (as lead vocals) and secured a studio to record their own studio album. They began work in the studio on their first single, "4th Hour of My Sleep," while simultaneously working on the album. By the time their first single was recorded and released, the band had been renamed The Ronno. "4th Hour of My Sleep" was released on the Vertigo label in January 1971 to indifferent reviews. The single's title track was written by Tucker Zimmerman, with the B-side being the Ronson and Marshall composition "Powers of Darkness." The Ronno's studio album was never completed.
The Spiders from Mars
The band, joined by Trevor Bolder (who replaced Visconti on bass) and Rick Wakeman on keyboards, was again used by David Bowie to record his fourth album, Hunky Dory. This album marked the production debut of Ken Scott alongside Bowie, replacing Visconti.
The same band, minus Wakeman, became known as The Spiders from Mars on Bowie's subsequent album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. Ronson once again played a key role in the album's recording, performing on various instruments (primarily electric guitar).
Ronson and Bowie achieved widespread fame on the concert tours supporting this album, thanks to the band's theatrics and Bowie's highly stylized stage persona. One of the most notorious elements of the show was Bowie's simulated oral sex with Ronson's guitar while he played. Ronson's guitar sound not only suited this performance style but also provided a major musical foundation for future punk rock musicians.
Ronson played on the 1972 country-rock album Bustin' Out, where he directed the ensemble and contributed guitar and vocal parts to several tracks, most notably on "Angel No. 9." "Angel No. 9" would later appear on his second solo LP, Play Don't Worry (1975).
His collaboration with Bowie continued on the album Aladdin Sane.
In 1973, Bowie released the covers album Pin Ups. The album became the last studio album recorded with most of the Spiders From Mars lineup that had played throughout the Ziggy Stardust era, though drummer Mick Woodmansey was replaced by Aynsley Dunbar. During the album sessions, a cover of The Velvet Underground's "White Light/White Heat" was recorded but never released. It is believed Bowie donated the track to Mick Ronson's 1975 album Play Don't Worry.
Later Career and Collaborations
Following the dissolution of David Bowie's Spiders from Mars and the 1973 "Farewell Concert," Ronson released three solo albums. His debut solo record Slaughter on 10th Avenue featured a cover of Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender," as well as Ronson's most well-known solo track, "Only After Dark." His sister, Margaret Ronson, also provided backing vocals on the album. Between this release and his next solo album, released in 1975, Ronson briefly joined the band Mott the Hoople. From this point forward, he would collaborate extensively with Mott the Hoople's former frontman, Ian Hunter. Their most prolific collaboration began with the recording of the album Ian Hunter. The album's single, "Once Bitten, Twice Shy," reached number 14 on the British charts, and the duo also toured as the Hunter Ronson Band
